Smith’s Information Services, Inc.

BPO and Cloud Computing Analysis

Version 0.1: January 26, 2014
Presented by: Renee Bonds

Client approval: Pending Note whether your case study needs to be ready in time for a specific event: Date: 1/26/2014 Event: Executive Monthly Meeting My Company Information Branch | Smith’s Information System | Address | 125 South Main Street | City, state, ZIP Code | Lexington, Massachusetts | Phone number | 339-555-2300 | Fax number | 339-555-2323 |

Contact name | Bob Smith | Title | CEO | Phone number | 339-505-2600 | Fax number | 339-505-2501 | E-mail address | bobsmith@smithserv.com |

Solution group | Under Investigation | Solution offering | Data Center | Project name or title | Present potential vendor choice |
Customer Profile Industry | Marketing | Annual revenue | $2 Billion |

Contact name | Renee Bonds | Title | CIO | Phone number | 832-505-2600 | Fax number | 832-505-2501 | E-mail address | reneebonds@hotmail.com |

Analysis
Analysis prepared for Smith’s Information Services, Inc.
Company Profile

Smith’s Information Services, Inc. is among the leaders in data collection of consumer information. Headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts – Smith’s has as impeccable record in providing the stabilization of consumer data. * Annual Sales: $2 billion * Primary Line of Business: Sales in Consumer Information * * Management Directory: * Bob Smith: Chief Executive Officer * Renee Bonds: Chief Information Officer *
Business Situation (Purpose)

Bob Smith, the CEO of Smith’s Information Services, Inc., is gathering information in hopes to secure an outside option for a new data center. This would be due to the midst of a corporate overhead reduction program at Smith’s. As a result the rising costs of operations and maintenance of an internal data center have become rather challenging. With sales and profits literally going down the drain, the idea of outsourcing a data center has become more attractive. Therefore funding for cooling and utility of the data center has drastically increased. A data center that’s outsourced will complement the mentioned expenditures.
Technical Situation (Relevant Data)

Smith’s Information Services, Inc. manages and sustains an internal data center for collecting the (sales) of consumer information. The following are the pain points for both the CEO and CIO: the data center needs to be operated around the clock (providing service in all time zones), as a result the increased head count is needed to run the data center, with consequence in amplified personnel costs. With this utility costs have been enlarged.

Concerns * Security of Data * Service level agreements * HR issues on the local level * Remote staff members * Apprehension on whether or not to communicate with clients on the decision to outsource

Options to Analyze * Local Data Center * Well-known Data Center * Data Center with an overseas location
Data Gathering

Option 1: Local Data Center – ColoSpace Data Center
Pros

Marlborough Data Center (child of ColoSpace Data Center) is located in Marlborough, MA within an hour’s drive of Lexington, MA. (With 4 other locations within the MA area). The following are pros offered as a local option to Smith’s Information Services, Inc.:

* Data Storage and Back-Up * Access Card System for Doors * Managed Security * Cooling system design to support dense blade and storage * 24-7 Customer Access * 24-7 Technical Assistance * Generator Back-Up

Cons

* ColoSpace Data Center has not been rated

Option 2: Well Known Data Center – HP Company

Pros

Hewlett-Packard Company, a well-known leader in innovation, provides data center services that extend across multiple locations. Hewlett-Packard Company is known for providing a variety of technological solutions to fit the needs for both businesses and individuals.

* Back –Up and Restoration Services * Storage Management Services * Flexible Pricing – Only pay for what you need * Archive and Compliance * Continuity Services * ISO Certified * Reputation for managing over 370,000 servers across the world

Cons * Company politics associated with being a well-known company * Service Limitations – For HP Data Center Services – “Services are conducted during HP standard business hours. Monday thru Friday excluding HP holidays” (“HP Data Center Services-U.S.”)
Option 3: Data Center with an Overseas Location

Pros * Full-scale preparations for power outage and fire * Green data center equipped with efficient cooling facilities * Security system installing the latest authentication methods * 24/7 operation and maintenance system * System redundancy in power supply, air conditioning and network * Stable network achieved by using backbones and access lines from multiple carriers * Quality is certified by NTT Communications Data Centre standards.*

*NTT Com's Data Centre standards consist of about 130 items based on past operational experience of more than 10 years in the industry, and integrate the global standards including the U.S. Telecommunications Industry Association, The Uptime Institute, and ASHRAE. Within Europe, our Data Centers are also ISO27001 certified for Information Security Management.
(“European Data Centers”)
Cons

* Remote location * Island locations poses network issues
Solution

An outside service, also known as outsourcing, would be the solution for Smith’s Information Services, Inc. business problem. This solution will provide the transferring of the responsibilities and duties of the data center to an outside organization. This could be either transferring all accountabilities either to an entity that’s inside or outside of the United States for management.
Benefits

There are significant benefits to outsourcing data centers. Besides the lowered costs when it comes to outsourcing the availability of the infrastructure is nearly 98%. This would be in relation to the utilities that supply electric power. Additional benefits include risk mitigation, tax incentives, and discounted power costs.
Conclusion/Final CIO Analysis

Based upon the information gathering, the following outsource option is being presented: In consideration of the location in Lexington, MA, and not any international locations at this time we will be choosing the ColoSpace Data Center as our partner to outsource our data information. Being only an hour away to Marlborough Data Center will allow us short traveling time in the need to meet face to face. My sole decision was based upon the pros and the stability of the company. After receiving the service level agreement, the agreed upon project strategy will be as follows:

New Client Project Strategy:
Understand and document all Smith’s Information Services, Inc. deliverables & timeframes - overall and site specific
Collate and validate all the required user location and personnel data
Make contact with appointed Smith’s Information Services, Inc. contacts at Head Office and each site who would facilitate rollout
Develop detailed project plan with milestones, timeframes, migration process
Build awareness across the user base in advance of any change
Develop incumbent vendor service termination process including authority levels

Works Cited

HP Data Center Services – U.S., HP Technology Services – Per Event Services (2006)
Retrieved from: http://h20427.www2.hp.com/program/ngdc/cn/zh/file/power_cooling/DataCenterServices.pdf NTT Communications – European Data Centers (2014) Retrieved from: http://www.us.ntt.com/en/products-services/data-center-services/colocation/colocation-data-centers/european-data-centers.html#.UuXM9YrnaM8 Cloud Computing - Cloud Computing in the Data Center and for Small Business (2014)
Retrieved from: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/cloud_computing.html